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The EU Court of Justice ruled, on 12 December 2013, that a French employee who had a civil partnership with a person of the same sex was discriminated against by [...]

Homosexual applicants for asylum can constitute "a particular social group," whose members may be persecuted on account of their sexual orientation specifically if they are being threatened with a prison [...]

Allowances for parental leave as granted under Luxembourg's national rules constitute a family benefit under EU law, and can therefore be granted to Swiss residents who work for air transport [...]

The employment and social affairs ministers support strengthening of the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and in particular the idea of a social and employment scoreboard [...]

As the Hungarian EU Presidency is drawing to a close, Budapest looks unlikely to be in a position to gloat about its six-month stint at the helm of the Council [...]

The Union's ministers for employment and social affairs are calling on member states to better promote youth employment in order to meet the targets of the Europe 2020' strategy. In [...]

Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK have received the green light from the European Commission to 'slightly' extend the working time of doctors in training on a temporary basis. Having [...]

A report adopted on 29 July by the European Commissionhas found that EU gender legislation is broadly benefitting workers, although it has been patchily implemented across member states. Italy, Lithuania, [...]

In the wake of the recent failure of the revision of the Working Time Directive, the European Commission is still in the process of devising a solution. The Swedish EU [...]

This summer, the EU has once again been faced with humanitarian disasters in the Mediterranean: five Eritrean survivors, found south of Sicily on 20 August after having sailed from the [...]

Enhancing the gender equality dimension will increase growth and employment and help the EU come out of the crisis stronger, declared Nyamko Sabuni, Swedish minister for integration and gender equality, [...]

The European Commission proposed, on 2 September, that the EU - in cooperation with member states - establish annual priorities for the resettlement on its territory of refugees who today [...]

Members of the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) still do not see eye to eye on whether or not to include self-employed drivers in Directive 2002/15/EC, [...]

New EU rules on social security systems should help workers as well as those not in paid employment to move more easily between member states. The revision of the EU [...]

In a historic first, representatives of the EU's employers and trade unions in the hospital sector have concluded an agreement on measures to prevent accidental needlestick and sharp object injuries.aAccording [...]

All employed new parents, regardless of their gender or type of employment contract, will be able to take four months' leave if a new plan by the Commission goes through. [...]

The EU Court of Auditors questions the 'usefulness' of certain parts of the EU's public health programmes and says that the right conditions for the projects financed by the EU [...]

Meetings between EU immigration ministers all tend to have a similar feel. Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus pushing for more 'solidarity' from their Northern European partners, claiming to be buckling [...]

'The newly adopted Slovak language law does not infringe upon the rights of minorities, it does not limit those minority rights and it does not discriminate them,' said a spokeswoman [...]

Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus won stronger commitments from Europe's leaders, meeting for the European Council, on 18-19 June in Brussels, to combat illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and to [...]

An agreement to set up a new European certificate proving the professional skills of hairdressers was signed on 18 June. The joint initiative by the EU-level employers' organisation Coiffure EU [...]

The new framework agreement on parental leave concluded by the European social partners provides for four months of parental leave for both parents, irrespective of the type of their work [...]

The European social partners have agreed to extend parental leave by one month, making the full duration four months for each parent. A framework agreement to this effect will be [...]

The European Commission transferred, on 21 June, 2.7 million from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) to Spain. The aim of the move is to help 588 workers, who were [...]

John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said, on 16 June, that he was 'disappointed' by the draft version of the 'solemn declaration on workers' rights [...]

'In a historic first,' all EU member state leaders have agreed to openly discuss discrimination in their countries and have pledged to draw up 'public strategies' to tackle the issue. [...]

The European Commission adopted, on 2 July, a proposal to set up a new microfinance facility for the years 2010-2013. The executive's aim is to kill two birds with one [...]

Illegal immigration and asylum, both burning issues, particularly for southern EU countries will be at the heart of the Swedish presidency. Although Stockholm's agenda does not end there, it also [...]

While the Irish government is pleased with the draft of the solemn declaration on workers' rights and social policy', the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is taking a different [...]

Heads of state and government were set to disagree on 18 June on the proposed end to co-financing of the European Social Fund (ESF). In the run up to the [...]

Several directives, such as the cross-border health care draft and the pharmaceutical package' are now on the Swedish agenda. But the new EU Presidency will also have to deal with [...]

The textile industry in Southern Europe is undergoing severe problems due to the shifting of production to China and India and the growing imports from lower-cost countries. As a result, [...]

The European Commission formally requested Greece to amend its legislation requiring qualified EU teachers to have an 'excellent knowledge of the Greek language,' on 25 June. This request takes the [...]

At a joint press conference held on June 10, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and Vice-President Jacques Barrot announced a set of new EU initiatives in [...]

Protecting the right of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely in another member state, while proving that EU law is capable of tackling abuse and marriages [...]

The European Commission announced, on 25 June, the launch of infringement proceedings against two member states for failure to respect the principles of the free movement of services (Article 49 [...]

The Swedish EU Presidency is expected to put social and employment policy back on the front burner following Prague's low key approach during the past six months. While some Czech [...]

On his return from Greece, Commissioner Jacques Barrot, who is in charge of the EU's immigration policy, warned straight away of a 'risk of democracy being knocked off balance' in [...]

The fight against illegal immigration has become a priority for the EU and will have its place in the conclusions of the European Council of 18 and 19 June in [...]

At the close of a public debate on the evaluation of the current framework for European cooperation in the area of youth, on 11 May in Brussels, the Education, Youth [...]

Tired of the nuisances generated by drug tourism, the Netherlands is considering a more restrictive approach to access to coffee shops on the Belgian border: marijuana buyers will have to [...]

Arguing that it was 'just not enough,' John Monks, the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) decided against signing the ten messages' on which the Czech-Swedish-Spanish trio [...]

On behalf of the Czech EU Presidency, Social Affairs Minister Petr Simerka said he 'regretted' the decision by Austria and Germany to retain 'transitional arrangements' for workers from the EU8 [...]

A new strategic framework' that offers guidelines for cooperation in reforming the EU member states' education and training systems over the next ten years was approved by the Union's education [...]

Pressure from Italy will not change a thing. Solidarity with countries like Malta, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Greece, which are overwhelmed by asylum requests, will remain 'voluntary,' noted the European [...]

Overall, the European Parliament agrees with the Commission's asylum package' proposals (co-decision) aimed at putting the person seeking international protection in Europe back at the heart of the system and [...]

The EU Council of Ministers killed two birds with one stone by adopting two directives on immigration, on 25 May. One creates a European blue card' to attract highly qualified [...]

Unanimity among the member states - which is a requirement for the draft anti-discrimination directive to be approved - seems as remote as ever. This emerges from a progress report [...]

'A new social deal is needed in the European Union,' said European trade union leaders, meeting in Paris on 27 and 28 May, to debate solutions to the crisis. At [...]

The Education and Youth Council, held in Brussels on 11-12 May, looked to the future. The main items on the agenda was the outlook for the European cooperation framework in [...]